May 14 coronavirus news

By Zamira Rahim, Joshua Berlinger and Adam Renton, CNN

Updated 8:24 a.m. ET, May 15, 2020
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11:19 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Brazil's president says lockdowns are "the path to failure"

From Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro talks to the press in front of the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, on May 13, 2020. Photo: DIDA SAMPAIO/ESTADAO CONTEUDO (Agencia Estado via AP Images)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro talks to the press in front of the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, on May 13, 2020. Photo: DIDA SAMPAIO/ESTADAO CONTEUDO (Agencia Estado via AP Images) Dida Sampaio/Estadao Conteúdo/Agencia Estado/AP

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro warned that more restrictive social isolation measures would break the country and said there wouldn’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.

This story about lockdown, closing everything, that is not the path,” he told journalists gathered outside the presidential residence, “That is the path to failure, to breaking Brazil.”

This comes one day after Brazil reported a record number of new confirmed coronavirus cases.

Bolsonaro said quarantine measures already introduced by many governors across the country were making the crisis worse. “Brazil is turning into a country of poor people.” He warned, “there won’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.”

On Wednesday evening, the Health Minister reported that the number of confirmed cases had risen 11,385 from the day before - a new record high for a day. Brazil’s total number of cases is now 192,081 and 13,276 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Brazil has the 6th highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. It stands behind the US, Russia, UK, Spain, and Italy, according to Johns Hopkins University.

10:01 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Moscow says "other causes" account for 60% of suspected coronavirus deaths

From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow and Nathan Hodge

A staff member in a protective suit works in a hospital for Covid-19 patients in Moscow on May 8.
A staff member in a protective suit works in a hospital for Covid-19 patients in Moscow on May 8. Gavriil Grigorov/TASS/Getty Images

Moscow's health department said authorities conducted autopsies on 100% of suspected coronavirus victims and confirmed that 639 people died directly of coronavirus complications in April, in a statement on Wednesday.

In more than 60% of [suspected] cases deaths were caused by obvious alternative causes, such as heart failure, stage four malignant diseases, leukemia ... and other incurable deadly diseases."

The health department hit back at media reports saying it was under-reporting Covid-19 fatalities, saying its data was “absolutely open,” but acknowledging that it only counts deaths that were found through postmortem autopsy to have been caused directly by coronavirus complications.

“In other cases, it’s impossible to put Covid-19 as the cause of death,” the health department said, acknowledging the April spike in mortality rates.

City health officials argue that a mandatory autopsy is performed on all patients with suspected coronavirus to establish diagnosis and cause of death “in contrast with the practice in most other countries,” adding, “post-mortem diagnoses and causes of death recorded in Moscow are therefore extremely accurate, and mortality data is completely open. It is impossible to name the cause of death as Covid-19 in other cases.”

Some background: CNN and other news outlets reported this week that Moscow saw a surge in mortality in April, according to civil register’s data. The city registered 11,846 death certificates that month, which is about 20% higher compared to a ten-year average of 9,866 deaths.

The statistics in the Russian capital have come under scrutiny as observers note the comparatively low overall number of deaths in Russia — a total that currently stands at 2,305 according to Johns Hopkins University — even as the country takes second place in the world for the number of confirmed cases, over a quarter of a million. 

Russia has the second-highest number of cases behind the US, and Moscow is the country's worst hit-city. According to official statistics, Moscow has reported at least 1,290 deaths out of an official total of more than 130,000 cases recorded as of Thursday, although Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said the total number of people infected is likely higher, based on screening studies.

The statement from the Moscow health authorities argued that even if all mortality figures for April in Moscow were adjusted to attribute more cases to coronavirus, the overall mortality rate from Covid-19 infections would be far lower than the official mortality rates in New York and London.

9:28 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Only 5% of people in Spain have coronavirus antibodies, government study suggests

From CNN's Mia Alberti, Al Goodman, and Claudia Rebaza

A doctor takes a coronavirus antibody test on April 30 in Sevilla, Spain.
A doctor takes a coronavirus antibody test on April 30 in Sevilla, Spain. Luna Flores/Europa Press/Getty Images

Only 5% of people in Spain have developed coronavirus antibodies so far, according to preliminary results of an epidemiological study by the government, which were announced on Wednesday evening.

"These results are very far from us being able to say there is herd immunity. There could be a second wave of infections, we don’t know what is going to happen,” said Dr. Marina Pollán, Director of the National Epidemiology Center, during a press conference late Wednesday.

The study also revealed that 87% of all participants who have tested positive using the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) for Covid-19 had developed antibodies.

The preliminary results of the study show the prevalence of antibodies is higher in people who said they had more than five symptoms of coronavirus (14.7%) than in people who said they had just three to five symptoms (8%). The study still has two more rounds of tests to conduct.

"Those people that reported a sudden loss of sense of smell, among them the prevalence [of antibodies] was 43%. Overall, of all positives we found in the study, 26% are people with no symptoms", Pollán added.

Pollán also said the study detected a five times bigger presence of antibodies in the populations of the territories with the most coronavirus cases, such as in Spain’s capital Madrid, compared to areas with fewer cases. The data also shows the level of antibodies was very "similar in men and women" and among adults. 

The study is based on 60,983 participants, who are a representative sample of the population. They are split into two groups across Spain for the search of antibodies. 

Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by coronavirus, has been under a state of emergency since March 14. As infection rates have declined, the government is slowly lifting strict home confinement, in some parts of the country. It is looking to this study to help guide its future re-opening of activities and the economy, officials have said.

9:04 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

France unveils "unprecedented" plan to save its tourism industry

From CNN's Pierre Bairin and Simon Cullen

Stacked chairs are seen inside a closed restaurant in Paris on May 4.
Stacked chairs are seen inside a closed restaurant in Paris on May 4. Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced an “unprecedented” 18 billion euro (or about $19.4 billion USD) plan to support the country’s tourism industry.

Under the plan, tourism businesses will be eligible for grants of up to 10,000 euros (about $10,781 USD). There are also government-guaranteed loans totaling 6.2 billion euro (about $6.7 billion USD).

“(Tourism in France) is probably facing the worst test in its modern history, even though it is one of the jewels of the French economy,” Philippe said Thursday, adding that French residents would be able to go on domestic summer holidays in July and August.

Philippe said cafés and restaurants in green zones – where the coronavirus epidemic is not as bad – would reopen on June 2 as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate.

For Paris and other areas in red zones, a decision to reopen cafés and restaurants would be made during the week of May 25.

He also thanked the tourism industry for guaranteeing that full refunds would be given for cancellations related to coronavirus. 

8:42 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Normal travel in Europe is "months not weeks" away, Irish prime minister says

From CNN's Tiff Gault and Simon Cullen

A man walks through the Dublin Airport on May 1.
A man walks through the Dublin Airport on May 1. Brian Lawless/PA Images/Getty Images

It will be “months not weeks” before there is a return to normal travel within the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told parliament on Thursday.

He said Ireland was committed to preserving the EU’s policy of allowing citizens to travel, study and work elsewhere in the continent.

“While these rights may be restricted for a time due to the pandemic and public health emergency, it is our policy to resume normal travel for business, leisure, study and visits to friends and relatives as soon as it is safe to do so, but not before,” he said.  

“This is something the European Commission is currently working on," the prime minister said. 

However, it’s going to be months not weeks before this is possible,” he added

Varadkar said anyone arriving at Irish ports or airports must self-isolate for 14 days unless they meet the criteria for an exemption.

His remarks come a day after the European Union unveiled an action plan to get its internal borders reopening, safely fire up its hospitality sector and to revive rail, road, air and sea connections that have been strangled during the pandemic.

8:16 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

State of emergency lifted for most of Japan

From CNN’s Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves after a press conference at his official residence in Tokyo, on Thursday, May 14. 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves after a press conference at his official residence in Tokyo, on Thursday, May 14.  Akio Kon/AP

Japan lifted its state of emergency for 39 of its 47 prefectures on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in a press briefing.

Tokyo, Osaka, and six urban prefectures will remain under the legislation, with the government assessing their status on May 21.

The Japanese PM said he could end the emergency order ahead of its May 31 expiration date for most of the country because he was confident in Japan's containment efforts.

Compared to other G7 nations, we could contain the infection cases and death per capita overwhelmingly,” he said.

According to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University, Japan has 16,049 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 678 deaths.

Abe said he will draw up the second round of a supplemental budget to boost financial support for employees and business owners.

Japan's initial state of emergency was declared on April 7. This applied to seven urban prefectures and involved a non-enforceable recommendation by central government to limit the country to only basic economic activity.

On April 16, Abe announced the state of emergency was expanded nationwide as its coronavirus cases continued to grow and, on April 30, was extended to May 31.

He asked the public to remain vigilant and gradually resume social activities while adopting a "new lifestyle" of practicing social distancing, working from home and avoiding high-risk activities.

8:00 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

It's just past 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here's what you may have missed

Medical workers collect samples in a mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Adygea, Russia, on Wednesday, May 13.
Medical workers collect samples in a mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Adygea, Russia, on Wednesday, May 13. Igor Onuchin/TASS/Getty Images

Coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, with its global death toll closing in on 300,000.

Here are the latest headlines:

  • UK reports 100% accurate antibody test: Britain has approved a coronavirus antibody test developed by pharmaceutical company Roche and is now working towards acquiring enough kits for widespread testing.
  • Russia reports nearly 10,000 new cases of Covid-19: The country recorded 9,974 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours. Russia has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the US, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
  • Hong Kong aims to test 860 people as new cluster grows: Officials will try to test the residents of two apartment buildings, after a couple and their granddaughter were diagnosed with Covid-19.
  • China expands testing over virus resurgence fears: Health officials said Thursday that they would step up coronavirus testing after two provinces in the northeast of the country reported new locally transmitted cases this week.

7:42 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

France warns pharmaceutical giant against giving US first doses of Covid-19 vaccine

From Pierre Bairin and Simon Cullen, CNN

Sanofi headquarters in Paris, France, on Thursday, February 6.
Sanofi headquarters in Paris, France, on Thursday, February 6. Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The French government has said it would be unacceptable for global pharmaceutical company Sanofi to reserve the first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine for the US market.

Sanofi is a France-based company. A month ago it signed a letter of intent with British multinational GSK to develop a vaccine for Covid-19.

At the time, the companies said they planned to initiate Phase I clinical trials in the second half of 2020 and, if successful, aimed to complete the development required for availability by the second half of 2021.

Deputy Finance Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said she contacted Sanofi on Wednesday, after reading comments from the CEO suggesting that the US market would be prioritised once a Covid-19 vaccine was developed.

“It would be unacceptable for Sanofi to reserve its Covid-19 vaccine as a priority, if it were to find one, to one country or another for financial reason,” she said on Thursday.
“As the President of the Republic said, if a vaccine is discovered, we very much hope that it will be a global public good.”

Sanofi says its cooperation with the US’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will allow it to initiate production as soon as possible.

The company said it was exploring similar opportunities within Europe.

“We have always been committed in these unprecedented circumstances to make our vaccine accessible to everyone,” the pharmaceutical giant said in a statement.
“Sanofi benefits from a diversified footprint around the world.
“We are having very constructive conversations with the EU institutions and the French and German government amongst others.”
7:21 a.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Global oil demand forecast slightly improves as lockdowns ease, says International Energy Agency

The McKittrick oil field in California on Wednesday, April 29.
The McKittrick oil field in California on Wednesday, April 29. Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Global oil demand is likely to increase slightly during 2020 as lockdowns are gradually eased around the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Better than expected mobility across the countries which form the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has also helped increase demand, it said.

The IEA has now revised upward its global oil demand outlook for 2020.

The organization now expects oil demand to fall by 8.6 million barrels per day in 2020 instead of 9.3 million barrels per day which was the estimate in its previous forecast, published in April.

This is still sharply down on demand from 2019 and marks a record drop in global oil demand.

“The gradual relaxation of restrictions on movement is helping demand. We estimate that from a recent peak of 4 billion, the number of people living under some form of confinement at the end of May will drop to about 2.8 billion worldwide," the organization said in a report.
"Mobility still remains limited for many citizens, but businesses are starting to reopen gradually and people are returning to work, which will provide a boost to oil demand, albeit a modest one at first.”

The IEA noted that economic activity was beginning a gradual but fragile recovery but warned that major uncertainties remain.

“The biggest is whether governments can ease the lockdown measures without sparking a resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks," it said.